Christmas

An activity to introduce the past simple form by reading about Christmas. Read about Christmas in the present and past tense then identify regular and irregular and past simple verbs. Introduces students to past tense and also familiarises them with British Christmas traditions.

Editor's note

Wonderful! I love the simplicity yet usefulness of this resource.

Level
Entry Level 1
Entry Level 2
ESOL
General ESOL
ESOL Sc/E3.4a Express clearly statements of fact 
ESOL Sc/E3.4c Give an account/narrate events in the past
ESOL Rs/E1.1a Read and recognise simple sentence structures:
ESOL Reading (R)
ESOL Rt/E1.1a Follow a short narrative on a familiar topic or experience
ESOL Rt/E2.1a Use a range of strategies to trace & understand main events
ESOL Rt/E2.2a Understand & identify the different purposes of short, straightforward texts
Context
Faith & Religion
Leisure, Hobbies, Travel & Tourism

17/1/22 Minor update - page number signposting at top of pages 5&6 corrected.
 highly functional, carefully graduated set of questions based on current (Dec 2021) Royal Mail information  about parcel and letter sizes, and first and second class mail prices. Written just before Christmas but can be used all year round. Main topics are: extracting information from tables, converting metric measures, formulae expressed as words, and working with money and decimals.

Author's note

Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Maths
FM Simple one step problem(s)
FM Straightforward problem(s) with more than 1 step
FM Contextualised underpinning
FM E3.1 Count, read, write, order & compare numbers up to 1000
FM L1.5 Use simple formulae expressed in words for one or two-step operations
FM L1.11 Add, subtract, multiply & divide decimals up to 2 decimal places
FM E3.10 Calculate with money using decimal notation & express money correctly in writing in pounds and pence
FM E3.15 Compare metric measures of length including millimetres, centimetres, metres & kilometres
FM E3.16 Compare measures of weight including grams & kilograms
FM L1.20 Convert between units of length, weight, capacity, money and time, in the same system
FM E3.21 Extract information from lists, tables, diagrams, charts; create frequency tables
Context
Independent living

Sparked after reading an article about a UK Which? report in The Guardian newspaper, and made in haste, this resource is aimed at Entry Level 3 (E3) and Level 1 (L1) learners but includes some E2 and L2 questions. There is no answer sheet – one might appear later for skillsworkshop contributors – but see below for general marking guidance. If you are stuck you can ask for help using my Twitter tag @skillsworkshop https://twitter.com/skillsworkshop

Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
English
FE E3.14 Form irregular plurals
FE E3.16 Use 1st, 2nd & 3rd letters to sequence words alphabetically
FE E3.17 Spell correctly words designated for Entry Level 3
FE E3.11 Use strategies to find meaning of words e.g. dictionary, context, word types
FE L1.13 Use reference materials & appropriate strategies for a range of purposes, inc. to find word meanings
FE L1.16 Recognise vocabulary typically associated with specific types and purposes of texts (e.g. formal, informal, instructional, descriptive, explanatory and persuasive)
FE L1.15 Infer from images meanings not explicit in the accompanying text
FE L2.19 Identify different styles of writing & writer’s voice
FE E3.12 Understand organisational features & use them to locate relevant information
FE L1.14 Understand organisational / structural features use to locate relevant information
FE L2.16 Understand organisational features & use to locate relevant information in a range of sources
FE L1.12 Recognise that language & other textual features can be varied to suit different audiences & purposes
FE L1.11 Identify meanings in texts & distinguish between fact & opinion
FE L1.9 Identify & understand the main points, ideas & details
FE L1.18 Use knowledge of punctuation to aid understanding of texts
FE L1.9 Identify & understand the main points, ideas & details
FE L2.11 Identify when main points are sufficient & when specific details are important
Context
Catering Food Nutrition

Sparked after reading an article about a UK Which? report in The Guardian newspaper, and made in haste, this resource is aimed at Entry Level 3 (E3) and Level 1 (L1) learners but includes some E1-2 and L2 questions. There is no answer sheet – one might appear later for skillsworkshop contributors – but the teaching notes do include general marking guidance. 

Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
Maths
FM Simple one step problem(s)
FM Straightforward problem(s) with more than 1 step
FM L1.16 Recognise & calculate equivalences between common fractions, percentages & decimals
FM E3.10 Calculate with money using decimal notation & express money correctly in writing in pounds and pence
FM E3.11 Round amounts of money to the nearest £1 or 10p
FM L1.18 Calculate simple interest in multiples of 5%
FM L1.29 Find the mean & range of a set of quantities
FM L2.23 Calculate the median & mode of a set of quantities
Context
Catering Food Nutrition

A revision activity for Level 1 Functional Skills English reading and writing.

Editor’s note
Reading questions cover all aspects of the FS criteria. The writing activity (formal letter) stresses the use of persuasive techniques and is ideal for both Level 1 and Level 2. It includes a useful writing checklist.

Level
Level 2
Level 1
English
Functional English - writing
Wt/L2.6
Adult Lit Wt/L2.5 Use formal & informal language appropriate to purpose & audience
Adult Lit Wt/L1.4 Use language suitable for purpose and audience
Functional English reading
Context
Voluntary, Charity and Community
News, Politics & Government items

Suitable for guided reading with Entry level learners in the run up to Christmas, this version of Dickens’s classic Christmas story (first published in 1843 and never out of print since) has been created using content downloaded from https://www.ego4u.com/en/read-on/literature/christmas-carol on 26th October 2016 and only slightly adapted for use as a paper resource.

Level
Level 1
Entry Level 3
English
AL Rt/L1.1 Understand continuous texts
AL Rt/E3.1 Understand longer texts
Functional English reading
Fiction

Based on two recent articles / surveys on Black Friday shopping, the main focus of this resource is Functional Mathematics but there is also an introductory page of English questions that check vocabulary, purpose of text and the ability to extract meaning from graphical material and captions.

This is followed by three pages of challenging differentiated questions for E3-L2 Functional Maths – all are based on the infographics within the text. Topics include large numbers, percentages, fractions and the four operations.

Level
Level 2
Level 1
Entry Level 3
English
Functional English reading
Maths
HD1/L2.1
HD1/L1.1
Functional Maths - numbers and the number system
Functional Maths - handling information and data
Extract and interpret information
Context
Retail Hospitality Customer service
Business & Money management

This is a reading comprehension based on a piece of text outlining the origins of Christmas trees in the UK with accompanying questions and a descriptive writing activity.

Level
Entry Level 3
English
Functional English - writing
AL Wt/E3.1 Plan & draft writing
Rt/E3.4
AL Rt/E3.1 Understand longer texts
Functional English reading
Context
History, culture, museums, libraries

Students are to plan and advertise a Christmas fete.
The resource covers writing lists and sentences, proof reading and using basic adjectives.
Students could use the Internet to find some ideas for Christmas stalls.

Level
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 1
English
Functional English - writing
Wt/E2.1
Wt/E1.1
ICT
Functional Skills ICT: Finding and selecting information
Context
Voluntary, Charity and Community

Two differentiated functional English tasks that involves a number of reading and writing skills (with a bit of maths thrown in!). Learners can personalise this by using names of their own friends and family. For both versions you will need copies of the current Argos book or access to the web site.

Entry 2 version includes: using a catalogue or web site, writing a list & a gift tag, budgeting, writing a note. You will need one gift tag per learner.

Level
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 1
English
Functional English - writing
Functional English reading
General literacy / English
Context
Independent living